# Developing a peer mentoring system for social media adolescent vaping cessation interventions: A feasibility and acceptability study.

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $81,409

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use ("vaping") has increased alarmingly in adolescents in the past years. As
adolescents are a coveted marketing target of the e-cigarette industry, and e-cigarette use has risen
dramatically in recent years, adolescent vaping has become a serious and urgent public health issue to
be addressed. Social media is the most popular media among adolescents, and therefore holds promise
to become an ideal platform to deliver vaping cessation interventions to adolescents. However, health
behavior change interventions delivered on social media face a common challenge: low retention and
reducing engagement as interventions unfold. Retention and engagement are essential to successful
social media interventions. Literature informs social media interventions that Integrating peer mentoring into
interventions may be a potential solution, because it can provide the human support and peer modelling
that people need to overcome difficulties with health behavior change, and it can cultivate the accountability
that can facilitate adherence and engagement. However, though shown to be promising in many health
promotion projects, including smoking cessation interventions, peer mentoring has not been leveraged in social
media interventions. This study would be the first to explore the application of peer mentoring into social
media interventions to address adolescent vaping.
The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop a feasible and acceptable peer mentoring system for
adolescent vaping interventions delivered on social media. To achieve this goal, based on an existing peer
mentoring text-based program for adult smoking cessation and the infrastructure of an ongoing randomized
trial of an adolescent vaping intervention delivered via Instagram, this study will accomplish two specific aims:
(1) develop a peer mentoring system for social media interventions for adolescent vapers, and (2) pilot test the
feasibility and acceptability of the peer mentoring system in a social media-based vaping cessation intervention
with adolescent vapers. In sum, combined with the advantages of social media interventions which are not
confined to geography and logistics of in-person interventions, peer mentored social media interventions have
the potential to significantly improve participant engagement and retention and to further enhance intervention
efficacy to help adolescents quit vaping. This research may also shed light on other health behavior change
interventions delivered on social media. The proposed study provides important experience and preliminary
data for Dr. Lyu’s next NIH K research career development award application and facilitates her development
into an independent investigator in the field of public health devoted to developing novel and evidence-based
effective tobacco control interventions to help people quit tobacco consumption.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10314098
- **Project number:** 1F32CA265059-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Chen Joanne Lyu
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $81,409
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-12-01 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10314098

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10314098, Developing a peer mentoring system for social media adolescent vaping cessation interventions: A feasibility and acceptability study. (1F32CA265059-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10314098. Licensed CC0.

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